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Pre-reading Year 8 homework

booklet October Half Term 2021

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Contents

Page 3 Introduction and reading rules

Pages 4-5 English

Pages 6-7 Geography

Pages 8-9 Maths

Page 10 Design and Technology

Pages 11-12 Science

Page 13 Computing

Pages 14 History

Page 15 Music

Page 16 Art

Page 17 French

Page 18 Physical Education

Page 19 EBC

Page 20 Drama

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Introduction

This homework booklet is designed to encourage you to read and research

the topics you will be studying in each subject next term.

Research shows that pupils who read regularly, achieve higher results in tests.

WPSFG Reading Rules

First reading is understanding

• Highlight any words you do not understand and try to use strategies to

work out what they mean

• Track with a ruler

• Summarise key points

Second reading is zooming in

• Identifying any interesting features

• How does the extract make you feel?

• How might this extract be interpreted by others?

Once you have finished your pre-reading, look for other examples of

research and reading you could do

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The origins of A Christmas Carol

Dickens set out to write his pamphlet-turned-book in spring 1843, having just read

government report on child labor in the United Kingdom. The report took the form of

a compilation of interviews with children that detailed their crushing labours.

Dickens read the testimony of girls who sewed dresses for the expanding market of

middle-class consumers; they regularly worked 16 hours a day, six days a week,

sleeping—like Martha Cratchit—above the factory floor. He read of 8-year-old

children who dragged coal carts through tiny underground passages over a

standard 11-hour workday. These were not exceptional stories, but ordinary. Dickens

wrote to one of the government investigators that the descriptions left him

“stricken.”

This new, brutal reality of child labour was the result of significant changes in British

society due to the Industrial Revolution. The population of England had grown 64%

between Dickens’ birth in 1812 and the year of the child labour report. Workers were

leaving the countryside to crowd into new manufacturing centers and cities. More

and more, employers thought of their workers as tools. Workers were becoming like

commodities: not individual humans, but mere resources, their value measured by

how many nails they could hammer in an hour.

Popular theories about how—or whether—to help the poor often made things

worse. The first was the widespread belief that poor people tended to be so

because they were lazy and immoral, and that helping them would only encourage

their laziness. If they were to be helped, it should be under conditions so awful as to

discourage people from seeking that help. The new workhouses were the perfect

solution—where families were split up, food was minimal and work painful. “Those

who are badly off,” says the unreformed Scrooge, “must go there.” Associated with

this concept were the ideas of Rev. Thomas Malthus, who cautioned against

intervening when people were hungry because it would only lead to an untenable

population size. Better that the poor should starve and therefore “decrease the

surplus population.”

What he wrote was that employers are responsible for the well -being of their

employees. Their workers should not be seen as tools for production but as humans.

They are of value as “fellow-passengers to the grave,” in the words of Scrooge’s

nephew, “and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.” Employers

owe their employees as human beings—no better, but no worse, than themselves.

“Oh God!” the ghost growls, “to hear the Insect on the leaf pronouncing on the too

much life among his hungry brothers in the dust!” In other words, Dickens reminded

his 19th-century readers—and today’s—not to mistake their good fortune of landing

in a high place for their worth.

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Reflection questions:

1. Highlight and clarify any words you do not understand.

2. What made Dickens want to write ‘A Christmas Carol’?

3. Look again at this quote:

‘The first was the widespread belief that poor people tended to be so

because they were lazy and immoral, and that helping them would only

encourage their laziness.’

How does this link to stereotypical beliefs held about poor families in

society today?

4. Why do you think writing a book would be the best way to communicate

Dickens’ concerns about society?

John Leech’s original illustrations in

the first publication of A Christmas

Carol. Here, he depicts the children

of ‘Ignorance’ and ‘Want’,

John Leech’s original illustrations in

the first publication of A Christmas

Carol. Here, he depicts the Ghost of

Christmas Yet to Come and

Scrooge

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Geography: Globalisation

What is ‘Globalisation’?

Taken from BBC Bitesize and Geog.3

The world is now a very small, interconnected place, as a result of globalisation.

Globalisation is the increasing connection between places and people across the planet.

Companies, products, ideas and lifestyles are spreading around the world. Globalisation

has been taking place for hundreds of years, but has sped up enormously over the last

half-century due to developments in technology and transport. Improved transport

means that people and products can be moved around the world more quickly.

Distance between places hasn’t changed but the time needed to cover these distances

has. Improvements in technology, such as the internet, has meant that money can be

transferred instantly between locations. People can also use telephones and the internet

to communicate more easily in ‘real time’. Millions of people are interconnected thanks

to the power of the digital world via platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Skype or

YouTube. Books, movies, and music are now instantaneously available all around the

world thanks to the development of the digital world and the power of the internet.

Distant places now seem much closer today than they did in the past – we can even see

them in real time too!

Have a look at the facts below that show how globalised the world is:

• In the early 1900s it used to take roughly 6 weeks to travel to Australia by boat. Now

it takes 24 hours by plane!

• On average there are 3.5 billion Google searches a day on mobile phones

• 70% of our chocolate in the UK comes from African countries e.g. Ivory Coast

• Avocados are grown mostly under the tropical temperatures of Mexico, the

Dominican Republic or Peru, but world trade means that avocado is common in

meals all over the world.

There are also other examples of globalization regarding traditions like Black Friday in the

US, the Brazilian Carnival or the Indian Holi Festival. They all were originally created

following their countries’ local traditions and beliefs but as the world got to know them,

they are now common traditions in other countries too.

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Tasks:

• Highlight any key words that you

are unsure of. Make a note of

them and do some research to

help you come up with a

definition.

• What is ‘globalisation’? Come up

with your own definition.

• Explain why the world has

become more globalised in

recent years.

Challenge

• How global are you?

We are linked to real people all over

the world through the things we buy.

Clothing is a good example. Most of

the clothes we buy are made in

other countries. Look at the labels

inside 10 items of clothing that you

own. Where were they made?

Make a list of the items and where

they were produced.

Do you notice any patterns? Where

are these countries?

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Maths: Why is geometry so important in your life anyway?

Geometry is a branch of mathematics that studies the sizes, shapes, positions angles and

dimensions of things. The earliest recorded beginnings of geometry can be traced to early

peoples, who discovered obtuse triangles in the ancient Indus Valley, and

ancient Babylonia from around 3000 BC. Early geometry was a collection of empirically

discovered principles concerning lengths, angles, areas, and volumes, which were

developed to meet some practical need in surveying, construction, astronomy, and

various crafts.

Its application began long back during Egyptian civilization. They used geometry in

different fields such as art, measurement, and architecture. Glorious temples, palaces,

dams, and bridges are the result of these. In addition to construction and measurements,

it has influenced many more fields of engineering, biochemical modeling, designing,

computer graphics, and typography.

Some of such applications of Geometry in daily life in different fields are described below-

Art

Mathematics and art are related in a variety of ways. For instance, the theory

of perspective (a graphical representation of on a flat surface of an image as seen by

eyes) showed that there is more to geometry than just the metric properties of figures:

and this perspective is the basis of the origin of projective geometry.

Technical

The concept of geometry is also applied in the fields of robotics, computer, and video

games. The geometry provides handy concepts both for computer and video game

programmers. The way & the design of the characters that move through their virtual

worlds requires geometric computations to create paths around the obstacles

concentrating around the virtual world. Video game engines typically put to use ray

casting, which is a technique that simulates a 3-D world using a 2-D map. Using this form

of geometry helps speed up processing because calculations are only done for the

vertical lines on the screen.

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Architecture

Just like other forms of arts, architects use mathematics for several reasons. Apart from the

mathematics needed when engineering buildings, architects use geometry: to define the

spatial form of a building i.e. to create the design of the building its shape, height,

structure basically the construction blueprint. Apart from this the Pythagoreans of the sixth

century BC onwards used geometry to create forms considered harmonious, and thus to

lay outbuildings and their surroundings according to mathematical, aesthetic, and

sometimes religious principles and also to decorate buildings with mathematical objects

such as tessellations, and even mitigate the hazard arising from wind speeds around the

bases of tall buildings.

Geographic Information Systems

Geometry concepts are used in satellites in GPS systems, it calculates the position of the

satellite and location of GPS gauged by the latitudes and longitudes.

Task: List 5 different examples where you have seen geometry used in real life.

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Design and Technology: Inspiring women in Design

Stella Jean Stella Jean was raised in Rome by a Haitian mother and Italian father at "a

time when the country was completely unprepared for multicultural families

like mine...people constantly stopped in the streets to point at us.” But Jean

credits her mixed background for her later success: Jean took her father's

basic button-down shirts and mixed them with bright fabrics.

This led to her main source of design inspiration: combining different

cultures. Jean won Vogue Italy's "Who Is On Next?" competition in 2011. In

2014, Giorgio Armani showcased Stella Jean's collection at the Armani

theatre in Milan, and she was the first womenswear designer to present in

the iconic space.

That same year, Jean collaborated with Christian Louboutin on a shoe

collection. With high-profile collaborations under her belt, Jean was invited

by the UN International Development Organization to join an ethical fashion

program. Jean has also garnered an impressive list of celebrity clientele,

including Beyonce and Rihanna. Even with all her global attention, Jean

believes fashion shouldn't be exclusive. By inviting craftsmen and artisans to

sit front row at her shows, she honours the people who made it all possible.

Zaha Hadid

The Iraqi-British Zaha Hadid became famous for her intensely futuristic

architecture characterized by curving façades, sharp angles, and severe

materials such as concrete and steel.

The structures she designed successfully accomplished what mystifies so

many when they observe great architecture: She took the strongest

materials in the world and manipulated them to form objects that appear soft and

sturdy at the same time.

Over the last two decades, her work has been honoured by a long list of awards: In

2004 she was the first woman to be awarded the Pritzker Prize; in 2010 and 2011 she

received the Stirling Prize, a British decoration for excellence in architecture; in 2014.

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Science: How do we see colour?

How do you know if a banana is raw, ripe or rotten? Well, you could obviously take a bite

and tell, but most of the times, you can tell just by looking. Especially if we’re talking about

rotten bananas. A raw banana would look green, a ripe one would be yellow and a

rotten one is most likely blackened. Have you wondered how we know the difference

between these different colours? Let’s find out.

What are Colours?

All the colours we perceive are an effect of light. The seemingly colourless sunlight

contains all the colours we can see, but at different wavelengths. In fact, colour itself, is

light of a particular wavelength, reflected.

When sunlight falls on an object, the surface of the object absorbs some of the light and

reflects the rest of it. Which wavelengths of light are reflected or absorbed depends on

the properties of the object.

Say the object is a ripe banana, it would absorb all the wavelengths of light except the

ones that correspond to the colour yellow. And we would thus see that a banana is

yellow. This property of the object changes as the object changes, which is why a raw

banana would look green, and a rotting banana would appear blackish.

Why do we see different Colours?

How do we know which colour is which, i.e. how does our brain know the difference

between these colours? We have a tiny area all the way at the back of our eyes that is

responsible for us seeing colour. This area has millions of light receptors called cones and

rods which react to light and tell our brains what colours we see. The cones in our eyes are

active in light-rich environments and respond most strongly to the colours red, green and

blue, in that order. So, when we see the banana, the light from the banana hits the

cones, stimulating them. They send the message across to our brain via our optic nerves,

which processes the information and tells us what colour we’re looking at. And we then

know whether the banana is raw, ripe, or rotting.

The rods in our eyes are active in low-light environments, where cones fail to perform, but

they perceive black and white, which is why it becomes difficult to determine the colour

of objects at night, or in very dim lighting.

How are Colours and Wavelengths related?

You now know that different colours have different wavelengths. The human brain can

only recognise colours that have wavelengths within the visible spectrum. Colours that

have wavelengths that are either less or more than this visible spectrum are invisible to us.

Here’s where it gets interesting. The visible spectrum is different for different organisms. In

fact, for some insects/ birds and fish, the visible spectrum is much wider, because they

have more types of cones in their retina. Some organisms can even see ultraviolet light.

This means that while we can see that a banana is yellow, with some black lines, a bee

might see many more patterns, or maybe even more colours on the same banana.

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Task: Write a summary paragraph on the text in your self-quizzing

book.

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Computing: Representing data

Representing data

All data inside a computer is transmitted as a series of electrical signals that are

either on or off. Therefore, for a computer to be able to process any kind of data,

including text, images and sound, they must be converted into binary form. If the data is

not converted into binary – a series of 1s and 0s – the computer will simply not understand

it or be able to process it.

Representing text

When any key on a keyboard is pressed, it needs to be converted into a binary number so

that it can be processed by the computer and the typed character can appear on the

screen.

A code where each number represents a character can be used to convert text into

binary. One code we can use for this is called ASCII. The ASCII code takes each

character on the keyboard and assigns it a binary number. For example:

• the letter ‘a’ has the binary number 0110 0001 (this is the denary number 97)

• the letter ‘b’ has the binary number 0110 0010 (this is the denary number 98)

• the letter ‘c’ has the binary number 0110 0011 (this is the denary number 99)

Task What form must data be in for a computer to be able to process it?

What code can be used to convert text into binary?

What is the denary number for letter ‘d’?

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History Pre-Reading: What Is Slavery?

“Slavery is forced labour (work) where people become the property of others.

Enslaved people are held against their will in a relationship in which other people

have absolute power over them. They are not allowed to leave, to refuse to work,

to own property or receive wages.

Evidence of slavery pre-dates (comes before) written records and has existed in

almost all ages, cultures and continents. In some societies, slavery existed legally,

but today it is outlawed in nearly all countries around the world. Nevertheless,

slavery continues and millions still suffer.”

- A definition of slavery from the guidebook to the International Slavery Museum

in Liverpool

When we think about slavery now, we normally turn our minds to the slavery in America

between the 1500s – 1800s because it impacted so many people, but slavery has existed

as far back in history as we can trace.

Ancient civilisations such as the Ancient Egyptians and Greeks used slave labour to build

some of the great monuments that are still standing today. Meanwhile, some historians

believe that as many as 1 in 5 people living in the Roman Empire were slaves.

By the 11th century, a form of slavery had become common in England’s rural communities

through the Feudal System, which saw peasants or ‘serfs’ being forced to work for wealthy

landowners.

Today, freedom from slavery is a recognised human right. However, The International

Labour Organisation estimates that nearly 21 million people alive today are victims of

slavery.

Tasks:

1. Based on what you have just read, write your own definition of the term

‘slavery’

2. Summarise the reading in no more 100 words

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1. Make a list of 10 sounds

that you hear

around school e.g. the

school bell. Put these

sounds in order from what

you consider to be

the quietest to the loudest.

2. If pp means very quiet,

what do you

think ppp means? What

about fff?

3. What sounds can you think

of that may approach our

‘threshold of pain’ –

around 120 dB?

Music can be loud or quiet, or somewhere in between. The

volume of a piece of music can change gradually

or suddenly. Another word for volume is DYNAMICS which is one

of our musical elements.

Dynamic markings

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when music printing

became established, Italian composers were generally regarded

as the leaders of European music. For that reason, it became

natural for composers to use Italian when writing down directions

to performers and this practice still continues. This is why we

use the Italian words forte (f) (loud) and piano (p) (quiet). These

words tell you what dynamics to use when playing a particular

piece. Contrasts in dynamics are often used to help set the

mood of the piece and add expression.

Here are some of the dynamic directions and their

abbreviations:

Italian key word Abbreviation Meaning

pianissimo pp very quiet

piano p quiet

mezzo piano mp moderately quiet

mezzo forte mf moderately loud

forte f loud

fortissimo ff very loud

crescendo cresc. gradually getting louder

diminuendo dim. gradually getting quieter

This sign is also used to show

a CRESCENDO

This sign is also used to show

a DIMINUENDO

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Art & Design - Picasso Pablo Picasso, born in a poor family in southern Spain in 1881,

he was a child prodigy and ended as the greatest painter of

his century. After some early training with his father, a drawing

teacher, Picasso showed that he had thoroughly grasped

naturalistic conventions–the ways that artists make a picture

look "realistic"–at a very young age. After some sessions of art

school in Barcelona and Madrid, Picasso spent his

adolescence associating with a group of artists in Barcelona.

From there he moved to Paris, where he quickly found like-

minded poets and painters. His work began to attract serious

critical attention and praise by the time he was twenty.

The time around 1901, is classified as his Blue Period. He painted

anecdotal scenes of clowns, vagrants, and women, all in tones of blue.

Important early works include his "Self- Portrait" (1901) seen above and

‘The Old Guitarist’ (1903-4) left. As Picasso spent more time in Paris, as his

painting developed, and as he began to meet the right people, his

mood lifted. His subject matter remained much the same, but his tones

were warmer, or rosier, and the atmosphere of his paintings was more

positive. This is sometimes called Picasso's Rose Period, but really there

was no marked technical change between this and the Blue Period.

During this time, Picasso soaked in all the experimental energy of

the Parisian art scene and, inspired by other French painters–

especially Paul Cézanne, and the art of Africa and the Pacific–

Picasso began to create for himself a radically new style, Cubism,

a movement Picasso developed in collaboration with another

painter, Georges Braque.

Demolishing the traditional conception of 2D space, Picasso and

Braque painted objects as pieces and fragments, rather than as

unified objects; they wanted to paint as they thought, not as they

saw. As time went on, their paintings took on more and more new

viewpoints, and appeared more fragmented and distorted. Picasso and Braque had

found a way to change a realistic subject into an abstracted painting.

Picasso made valuable contributions to art throughout his entire life, but it was the

invention of Cubism that secured his immortality. His later work, in many different styles

shows that his artistic vitality transcends any one style.

Write a short summary paragraph about Pablo Picasso and his artwork

Think: How would you describe this work to someone who had never seen it before?

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French

School Life in France

There are differences between school life in France and the UK. A fundamental difference is that you don’t wear a uniform to school in France. They can wear jeans and trainers! In France, the school day may run from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. However, often children have no school or only half a day on a Wednesday.

Many schools also have a lunch break of 2 hours. A standard school lunch will consist of a salad followed by a main course, with a side of vegetables, then a cheese course and a dessert which will often be fruit, and occasionally a pastry. As you would expect in France, fresh bread is offered daily. However, if children do not wish to eat in the canteen, a packed lunch is not usually an option. Instead, children go home for lunch and with many schools having a two-hour lunch break this is easy to do if it fits around the parents’ schedule.

Extra-curricular activities are usually done outside of school in France. French schools do not tend to offer after school sports or creative clubs, as is often the option in the UK. Schools in France are secular. Aside from the private Catholic schools, schools do not tend to study religious education or celebrate religious festivals.

Schools in France place a lot less weight on creativity compared to the UK. In France, more emphasis is placed on learning and reproducing facts and figures. Learning is very specific with more traditional academic styles and a lot less value placed on self-expression and exploration.

Answer the questions below:

1. Do children wear uniform in France? What can they wear instead?

________________________________________________________________

2. How long (in hours) is the school day in France?

________________________________________________________________

3. What do they have for lunch?

________________________________________________________________

4. When do extra-curricular activities take place?

________________________________________________________________

5. What is the difference in learning?

________________________________________________________________

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Physical Education

Next term we will begin to look at effective cool downs and recovery from intense activity.

Why it is important to cool down after physical activity.

After exercising it is important to cool down properly. Especially if you have been doing

intense activity. This is to allow any bi products produced in the body during exercise to leave

the muscles, so we do not feel sore or have muscle fatigue. If our muscles do feel this way, it

means there is a build-up of lactic acid and the muscle will be stiff and cause discomfort. An

effect of not cooling down properly is Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness (also known as

DOMS). If this occurs, then athletes need to rest for a period after activity to allow the muscle

to work efficiently and thus reducing the likelihood of injury. An example of when DOMS

occurs is after someone has run the London Marathon. Often runners experience aches, pain

and soreness after completing the 26.2-mile run.

Effective cool down example

An effective cool down would consist of activities that reduce gradually in intensity, provide

deep stretching and an opportunity to rehydrate and refuel. An example of an effective cool

down is;

Reduce heart rate- Jogging, side stepping then walking

Stretch- Static (hold the position) stretching held for at least 30 seconds at a point of tension

Hydrate and Refuel- Drink water and eat high protein food such as a banana

EPOC

Many athletes use cold conditions to help them recover quickly from intense activity and

training. This is because the cold conditions encourage blood flow to get to deep tissue in the

body. This helps to get rid of waste products in the muscles to prevent muscle soreness and

fatigue. This process is known as EPOC.

Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption

TASK: Using the above information, make 2 revision cards. If you do not have revision cards at

home, you can make some using paper. There are some examples of revision cards below.

Card 1- Why it is important to cool

down.

Card 2- Cool down examples and

EPOC.

Only add key information. Use

bullet points or spider webs/

images to display the information.

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EBC

Why do religions exist?

Religion has been an important part of history, from pre-historic to

modern times. Most religions claim their teachings have existed

since the beginning of the world or since the first humans walked

on earth. Although not everyone believes in a religion or are religious it plays an important

part of many people’s lives.

The main six religions of the world are Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism and

Buddhism. Within these religions there are many different types. For example, in Christianity

some may Catholic, and some might be Protestant.

What are the Abrahamic religions?

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are all Abrahamic religions this means that they all share

the same Prophet (a person who very important and influential) of Abraham. Abrahamic

religions only believe in one God. When a religion believes in one God it is called a

Monotheist religion. Mono meaning one.

The Abrahamic religions came from roughly the same area of the world, in the Middle East

around the countries of Palestine, Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Although Judaism, Christianity and Islam have many similarities, they also have many

differences.

What are the other religions of the world?

The other three main religions are Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism.

Hinduism came from India and is one of the oldest religions in the world, nearly 5,000 years

ago. It is one of the most popular religions in the world and unlike the Abrahamic religions

they worship many gods. This makes Hinduism a polytheist religion. Poly meaning many.

Buddhism came from India 2,500 years ago. Nowadays it is a very important religion in

many different Asian countries.

Sikhism is one of the world youngest religions and was founded nearly 500 years ago. The

Sikh religion also came from India and has a following 20 million people. Sikhism believes

in one god, making it a monotheist religion.

Activities

Answer these question in full sentences.

1. What are the main six religions?

2. Name the Abrahamic religions. Where do they come from?

3. What is difference between Monotheist religions and Polytheist religions?

4. What is the oldest religion in the world?

Think: What religious buildings can you see in your local area? What religion do they

belong to?

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Drama: Mask and Mime

MASK

It is vital to remember not to speak when wearing a mask. This is the case because mask is

intended to be a visual form of theatre, communication is made through the physicality

of the body, over that of spoken words. Mask is intended to be a universal form of

communication

In working with mask, everything is to be expressed externally, rather than internally. To

share your actions with the audience, brings and invites them on the journey with you. The

audience are the reason you are performing in the first place, to exclude them would

take away the purpose of everything that is being done.

References: Lecoq’s Technique and Mime. Oliver J Harris. Word Press.

Lecoq, Jacques (1997). The Moving Body. London: Methuen

MIME

Mime is a form of silent art that involves acting or communicating using only movements,

gestures and facial expressions. Non-verbal communication dates all the way back to the

first human beings. Before there was spoken language, gestures and facial expressions

were used to communicate. As spoken language developed, these gestures and facial

expressions were retained as a form of simple entertainment.

Many people associate mime with French culture. However, mime is an ancient art that

dates back to the early Greeks and Romans. It was in France, though, where mime

flourished. It became so popular that mime schools were established throughout France,

and a great tradition of French mimes soon followed. One of the most famous French

mimes was Marcel Marceau. His character, Bip, wore a short coat and a top hat with a

flower…Marceau’s work was also influenced by early silent film stars, such as Charlie

Chaplin.

References: Wonderopolis: National Center for Families Learning (2014-2021)